Ambiguity and context-dependent overloading

Context-dependent Overloading with terminating type inference

In this paper we present a type inference algorithm for a core-Haskell language with unrestrictive context-dependent overloading such that type inference always terminates. When types have constraints, decidability of type inference is based mainly on decidability of constraint-set satisfiability. We define a constraint-set satisfiability algorithm that uses a simple condition in order to guara...

An experimental study of ambiguity and context

Ambiguity Aversion , Comparative Ignorance , and Decision Context

People typically find bets less attractive when the probability of receiving a prize is more vague or ambiguous (Ellsberg, 1961). According to Fox & Tversky’s (1995) comparative ignorance hypothesis, ambiguity aversion is driven by the comparison with more familiar events or more knowledgeable individuals, and diminishes or disappears in the absence of such a comparison. In this paper we emphas...

Translation ambiguity in and out of context

We compare translations of single words, made by bilingual speakers in a laboratory setting, with contextualized translation choices of the same items, made by professional translators and extracted from parallel language corpora. The translation choices in both cases show moderate convergence, demonstrating that decontextualized translation probabilities partially reflect bilinguals’ life expe...

Reference dependent ambiguity

Motivated by experimental and empirical evidence, I develop a theoretical framework to study how reference-points – such as a status quo, endowment or default option – can distort the way an individual perceives and responds to ambiguity. I use this framework to characterize various models of reference-dependent ambiguity, and provide behavioral foundations for comparative ambiguity attitudes a...